Nation

McConnell blocks Democrats’ attempt to quickly approve $2,000 checks amid pressure on GOP to act

Senator Mitch McConnell's move was just the beginning of a saga that is likely to engulf the Senate for the rest of the week. Continue reading →

Nation

Biden calls Trump pandemic effort a ‘travesty’ and vows extensive federal effort to blunt virus spread

Biden calls Trump pandemic effort a ‘travesty’ and vows extensive federal effort to blunt virus spread Continue reading →

Nation

NY prosecutor hires forensic accounting firm as probe of Trump escalates

FTI Consulting is looking for anomalies among a variety of property deals, and will advise the district attorney on whether the president’s company manipulated the value of certain assets to obtain favorable interest rates and tax breaks. Continue reading →

World

As US forces leave, Somalia’s elite fighting unit fears becoming a political pawn

The United States has invested billions of dollars in Somalia over the past decade, in part to build and train Danab, the only effective, apolitical fighting unit in the country’s war against Al Qaeda-affiliated Al Shabab. Continue reading →

World

Russian investigators open new fraud probe involving Navalny

Navalny, who is convalescing in Germany after an August poisoning with a nerve agent that he blamed on the Kremlin, ridiculed the new accusations as a sign of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s despair. Continue reading →

World notebook

WHO says the coronavirus pandemic might not be the ‘‘big one’’ that experts have long feared

The coronavirus pandemic might not be the ’'big one’' that experts have long feared, a World Health Organization official warned Tuesday during the global health agency’s last virtual media briefing of the year. Continue reading →

Editorials

Pass the economic development bill

Beacon Hill needs to get its act together to help Massachusetts residents and businesses through this crisis. Continue reading →

OPINION

On the 50th anniversary of the EPA, hope, inspiration, and a path forward for America

Americans will come together across a bitter divide to unite with singular purpose and resolve to protect our nation, the health of our people, and the sustainability of our environment. Continue reading →

OPINION

What Trump’s pardons say about criminal justice

Used to show sovereign grace and mercy, clemency can ennoble a nation. But even its responsible exercise should not blind us to deeper problems. Continue reading →

Metro

Biden, public health critics slam slower-than-promised pace of US COVID-19 vaccination rollout

With the pace of the COVID-19 vaccination rollout lagging the timetable US and Massachusetts officials laid out only weeks ago, some prominent public health leaders are criticizing what they say is poor planning and a lack of urgency by government leaders. Continue reading →

Metro

Controversial monument depicting Lincoln standing over a freed slave removed from the Back Bay

A controversial statue depicting Abraham Lincoln standing over a half-dressed, formerly enslaved man has been removed from its longtime location in Boston’s Back Bay, months after the city’s Art Commission voted to take it down amid a nationwide reckoning on racial justice. Continue reading →

Politics

Boston crosses a grim threshold: 1,000 COVID-19 deaths

Massachusetts has suffered some of the highest death rates in the country from the coronavirus, partly because a wave of infections tore through nursing homes across the state early in the pandemic. City residents share the pain of losing a loved one to COVID-19. Continue reading →

tara sullivan

Bill Belichick can’t dodge the quarterback question forever

The glaring question mark at the position will loom over every move in the offseason — which arrives in one week. Continue reading →

Celtics 116, Pacers 111

Facing a 1-3 start to season, Celtics roar back to earn split with Pacers in Indianapolis, and other observations

Boston overcame a 17-point deficit in the second half. Continue reading →

ben volin | on football

Everything you need to know about the Week 17 NFL playoff scenarios

The NFL has a wild Sunday on tap, with 11 teams fighting for seven postseason spots. Continue reading →

Innovation economy

Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee wants ‘personal empowerment’ for users, through his data startup

The company, Inrupt, is trying to use technology to give people more control over their personal data online. It started selling its software to corporations and government agencies in November. Continue reading →

Business

How far a $600 stimulus check might go in Boston

Boston has among the highest living costs of US metro regions, and for most people in need, the $600 will cover only a portion of a just one major expense. Continue reading →

Business

Major rail safety technology installed before deadline

The railroad industry has installed an automatic braking system on nearly 58,000 miles of track where it is required ahead of a year-end deadline. Continue reading →

Obituaries

Louisiana congressman-elect Luke Letlow dies from COVID-19 at 41

Luke Letlow, Louisiana’s incoming Republican member of the US House, died Tuesday night from complications related to COVID-19 only days before he would have been sworn into office. He was 41. Continue reading →

Obituaries

Principal Joe Clark who inspired film ‘Lean on Me’ has died

Joe Louis Clark, the baseball bat and bullhorn-wielding principal whose unwavering commitment to his students and uncompromising disciplinary methods inspired the 1989 film “Lean on Me,” died at his Florida home on Tuesday after a long battle with an unspecified illness, his family said in statement. He was 82. Continue reading →

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ART

A new mural brings beauty and diversity to a ‘boring’ corner of Kendall Square

Cedric "Vise1" Douglas and Julia Roth brought the faces of two women to a Cambridge vent shaft. Continue reading →

MUSIC

Celebrate New Year’s Eve with HipStory and its vision for Boston’s hip-hop future

The Boston-based media production company and artistic incubator is ringing in 2021 with a new digital concert platform. Continue reading →

FAMILY

Drawing your best for the Emerald Necklace

The Conservancy just announced a contest for stir-crazy young artists. Continue reading →